I believe that it is critical to understand the level of education the learner has before submitting tests for a curriculum (Diagnostics). For instance, the Community College level freshman year student is often less likely to have the critical writing skills that a credited 4 year degree studnt may have. Thus, it may be impractical to offer more essay type questions to these students.

when i tell students about myself i always let them know that by hearing about my mistakes or something i did the hard way they might be able to avoid some of the thing i went through with my business

I was just wondering when I took instructor training, They told me to share something about myself. It sounded like a good idea to me. The first couple of times I tried that it backfired on me. The students took the little I told them about me and my experiences, and used it against me in a variety of ways. Has this happened to other new teachers as well. And I just quit telling them about my backround. the problem went away.

When a student asks a question I look at what they are asking and doing at the time. I then ask them a question about the subject in a different way to get them thinking on their own. I do this for several questions to see how they answer and then say "When you are out working and have a question think back to me and come up with another question to kick your own thoughts and with this I hope youo find your own answer".

OK it is plain and simple we as educators are actors. We have to keep the attention of the class for the time they are in there. With this we are like actors we are showing them a story so to say. The examples of the delivery are the ones that we should use I had to laugh because going thru this section i saw myself and did not even realize that I was doing things the right way. When applied I feel that these techniques work well. Not much more to add to this other than it works well for me.

Questioning is basic to good communications.

Depending on the topic of the day, I find that my students sometimes have a number of questions on some days and not as much on other days. The important thing to remember is to direct the topic of the day towards their educational goals (whatever they may be) and it will help the learning and questioning process throughout the class.

Is it OK to use multiple question types on a single test?

It takes time and a wealth of experiences in the classroom to effectively use this artform.

Here goes remember the first time you saw someone that you were meeting for the first time. I do and many remember the first time they met me. Why you ask well until I took the postion that i have now i had hair to my waist am covered in tattoos and that is what people see. Now what they do not see is a college educated former business owner of a successful company and a great father (according to my son). But they go by first impression. Now if the first impression scares you off or makes you uncomfortable or uncertain about the person abilities why are you gonna go back. Remember this the next time you get ready to meet a class or person for the very FIRST time.

I use what i call the tree method. I start the lecture or lectures with, what the root of the subject matter is. Then from here I can give examples of it's uses and strenghts and then from this method it can lead into other branches of a particular system or method.

I have had a little bit of stage fright first time in front of a new class for some time. Of late, this has not been much of an issue. I noticed that by having a good plan of attack if you will, when I step into a new course things seem to line up a little better when I explain the course objectives to the students, there seems to be a respect factor there that puts me at ease and we can get on to what's important at hand, and that's their education, not my fears. By doing additional research on the subject matter seems to of helped get the tension between the students and myself out of the way, this has become better for me and the students.

I have daily planners that I have preparred for the courses that I teach. I use these to keep track of time lines and course content. I find that they also help to make sure I have additional time for pass arounds, hands on demo's, and additional Q & A time from the students. Does anyone else use this method? They have worked so well that I have copied them for other instructors and campuses that teach the same material within these courses.

Shouldnt some of a instructors experiences be given to the students, if kept to a small amount of time. This way they know what to excpect in the field

The basic premise that you have 15 minutes to get the point across is a daunting task. Knowing this helps keep the lecture moving and prompts the lecturer to 'change gears' every quarter hour or risk loosing the audience.

Many students learn and retain the lesson material by doing hands on and observing the fit, from and function of the parts that make up the machinery

The way i do it in my class is very simple actuallu. We take apart the item that we are talking about that day. This gets them excited because they have hands on from the very beginning. As we then go over the different components they have them in their hand so they can actually see the changes i refer to in the parts. At the end of the day when they are reassembling I go around and look and make sure they are doing it correctly if not i coach and help them. Very easy approach for me in what i teach.

When I teach a program I always start with quick keys (hot-keys, short cuts). This way I can show them how to fully use the program.

I work an audio school and what we do is not a word game they have to listen and figure out the frequency, amount of compression and if theres any time based effect applied. This helps in there carrier and in developing there ears.

Ok so i'm color blind and I have noticed that students tend to react to lighting a bit more than color. Most of the course I teach is on a projector and having a low light classroom before class starts helps, because they get in the mood for the class.